Improvement in eufflee foe sewing machine



Ruffle-for Sewing Machines.

Patentedr Oct. 15, 1867.

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IMPROVEMENT IN RUPFLER FOB. SEWING MACHINE.

@he rlntule nfcrrrh tu in time trttrrs Qnicnt mit making nnrtuf tige samt.

TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

,A Be it known that I, A. STEW-ARD, of Plano, in the county of Kendall, and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful' Attachment for Sewing Machines, namely, a Ruier for the purpose of gathering a rutile and sewing it onto the band at one operation; and I de hereby declare that the following is'a full, clear, and exactA dcscriptionof' the construction and operation of thesame, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making a part of this specification, in whichi Figure 1 shows the working part of a sewing machine with rniiier attached.

Figure 2 shows parts of rilflier with the cloth-presser of a sewing machine, parts lettered as follows: A, springplate of ruHer, toppview; B, spring-plate of ruiler, bottomriew; C, bed-piece of ruiiier; D, part of clothpresser of sewing machine; E, screw; F, cloth-presser piston of sewing machine.

Figure 3 shows the feeding apparatus of a sewing machine in connection with refiler, parts lettered as follows: A, spring-plate of rufier; C2, cam of sewing machine; D, feed-bar; F, 'cloth-presser piston; II, spring for cloth-presser' piston. i

In ru'lling, puing, te., two pieces of cloth or other textile fabric are used, and for convenience the piece to begathered I`call a. ruffle, and the piece to which it is sewed I call a band. These I also show in fig. 3, the band being shown by ddtted lines B2, and the ruffle by dotted lines R2.

I construct my improvement as follows: I attach to the sewing machine a thin plate of metal or other suitable material, in such a manner that it may extend between the cloth-presser and the feeding apparatus and prevent those parts from coming in contact during a portion ofthe feed-stroke. I construct this plate as shown b-yA and B, fig. 2, and after inserting the part D and bed-piece C into the grooves between the forks of the cloth-presser piston F,all of iig. 2, I secure it by the screw E'through the slot in A-to the bed-piece C, the part D and bed-piece C thus forming the cloth-presser, and the plate secured to the top of the same extends around underneath andl between it and the feeding apparatus, there being space enough between this plate and the :bottom of the cloth-presser to allow the cloth to pass freely between them when no pressure is exerted on the :under side of the plate, but the plate-is made thinenough to yield easily to pressure from-below and be pressed against the cloth'to prevent it from moving except when released, and at the proper time.

The operation of my improvement is as follows, and shown by g. 3: I insert the ruffle between the clothpresser,wi`hrules attached, and the feeding apparatus, as shown by dotted line R2, I then ,insert the band above the same, and between the spring-plate A and the bottom of the cloth-presser, as shown by dotted line B2. I now allow the cloth-pressernto drop down, asin ordinary sewing. It is forced' down by the spring H, thus holding the band Bibetween the spring-plate A and the bed-piece C, and the spring-plate yielding, as before stated, is pressed against the upper side of. the ruiiie R2, thus pressing both pieces of cloth, with the spring-plate inserted between them, down firmly upon the cloth-plate, (not shown in fig. 3,) of the sewing machine. I now star-tithe machine, when the com O2, operating upon the`feedbar D2, causes it to rise until its teeth passing thi'o'ugl-l- Vslot in cloth-plate presses against the ruil'le R2, raising both pieces of fabric, the rufiler and cloth presser a little more-than the thickness of thc spring plate A, then moving forward carries the rule R2 with it, the-band BL being heldstationary between the spring-plateA and the cloth-presser until all the teeth of the feed-bar have passed the spring-plateA, when the feed-bar seizes also the band B2, and the springplate A, no longer pressing the teeth of the feed-bar, recoils te its irst position, releasing the band B2, and allowing it to VAbe moved with the ruiilc It2 theA remainder of the feed-stroke, then the feed-bar D2 is allowed by the cam O2 to drop down below the surface of the cloth-plate, when the cloth-presser holds both pieces of cloth as before, the

`feed-bar goes back, and the next revolution of the cam C2 causes it to rise, move forward, and repeat the process. Thus, by carry-ing the ruilic Ii'.2 a greater distance forward than I do the `band B2, the two being sewed togetherV as they pass the needle, a fold or gather must be made in the ruHe R2 at each operation of the feeding apparatus, which fold, as it passes the needle, is secured by sewing te the band B2, thereby gathering the ruiiie and sewing it onto the band with one operation. Now, if I wish to gather more of the rutile on to the saine quantity of band, I lengthen the stroke of the feed-har in the ordinary manner, which allows the feed-bar to recoil a greater distance and seize a. greater quantity of the ruffle, carrying it forward until the teeth of the feed-*bar pass the`spring-plate as before, Aand seize-.also the band and carry it the same distance as in the first operation.

But if I wish to gather the seme quantity of the ruie as in the rst operation on to a less quantity of bund, I adjust the spring-plate of the ruler by means of the slot in the same, and screw E, fig. 2, moving it nearer the needle, in order that the feed-bar shall move farther with the rulie before and not so fur after passing the spring-plate and seizing the band. By this means I am enabled to regulate with precision the fullness of the.

ruffle upon coarse o1* ne fabrics, as occasion requires. What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is- The spring-plate A B, constructed as described, combined with the presser, end arranged te operate in con.

nection with the feeding apparatus as and for the purposes described.

A. STEWARD.

Witnesses:

G. H. STEWARD, H. B. MATHEWS. 

